Pan's Labyrinth recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, so I thought it would be a great time to look back and examine what makes this Guillermo del Toro film so special.
The film takes place in the late years of World War II, in Francisco Franco's Spain, which is still recovering from the Spanish Civil War. A young girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant mother Carman (Adriana Gil) have been displaced, and taken in by Vidal, a captain in the Spanish army. While Vidal defends his outpost from guerilla freedom fighters and attempts to root out sympathizers in his ranks, Ofeila is more concerned with her mother. Carmen's pregnancy is a difficult one, and Ofelia is concerned that her mother may not survive. Ofelia encounters a faun, who gives her three tasks to carry out. Not only will these cure her mother's illness, but the faun claims Ofelia will become immortal if she performs her tasks correctly.
One of the things I find interesting about this film is that it is told entirely in Spanish, with subtitles. Guillermo del Toro could have very easily made Pan's Labyrinth in English, but I am thankful he chose not to. While subtitles aren't to everyone's taste, I find this style choice to be the most authentic to the cultural setting. It feels completely natural for the film to be presented in this way. To have the same film in English would be to settle for a cheapened experience.
The contrast of brutal realism with dark fantasy is one of the things that makes Pan's Labyrinth work so well. The score by Javier Navarrete mirrors this tone incredibly well. There are notes of the whimsical tempered by terror and tension as the story develops. The film has an incredibly strong cast, which also helps to draw the viewer in. In particular, I was captivated by Sergi Lopez's performance as the cruel Captain Vidal. His mercurial anger is as terrifying as the script intends, and makes you all the more concerned for the safety of the others. Alex Angulo is also very good as the determined Doctor Ferreiro, who plays a dangerous game by helping the rebel camp in secret.
My review wouldn't be complete without talking about the incomparable work of creature actor Doug Jones, who performs both the fascinating, yet dangerous looking faun character as well as the baby-eating monster known only as 'the pale man'. Jones uses every part of his body to create these iconic characters, but this is only half the story. These performances would be nothing without the masterful technical work of prosthetics and special effects. While the fantasy sequences in this film are brief, they are so richly detailed that they are the most memorable and iconic scenes from the film. Credit is also due to the production design team for creating such a finely detailed and fully realized world.
To sum up, Pan's Labyrinth is still as incredible a piece of film as it was ten years ago. The characters are strongly written and brilliantly acted. The effects work is beautifully well done, and solidifies the otherworldly nature of this movie. In addition, Pan's Labyrinth was a film that catapulted Guillermo del Toro into his position as one of the most visually distinctive and sought-after directors in Hollywood. In short, it's a high point in the ever-expanding del Toro filmography.
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